St. Augustine commission keeps millage at 7.5 mills as staff flags up to $2.1M risk from proposed state property-tax change

St. Augustine’s City Commission received a staff presentation on the city’s FY2027 revenue manual and signaled support for maintaining the current millage rate of 7.5 mills while staff develops detailed impact scenarios.

Melissa Burns, the city’s finance director, told commissioners the manual summarizes major revenue sources, legal authority and five-year forecasts used to build the FY2027 budget. Burns said staff projects about an 8% increase in ad valorem revenue for FY2027 — roughly $1.8 million — assuming the 7.5-mill rate is kept.

Burns also warned of a separate, proposed Florida constitutional amendment on property taxes that would increase the homestead exemption for non-school taxes. "If approved by voters, the amendment would increase the homestead exemption and could reduce the city's taxable value by approximately $2.1 million annually beginning in FY2028," Burns said, adding that staff’s FY2027 forecast assumes current law but included the analysis so commissioners understand the potential fiscal implication.

Burns explained the rollback rate is 7.2385 mills and noted a 2026 change in state law requires a two-thirds vote to adopt a millage above the rollback rate. "Maintaining the 7.5 mills would require four of five votes," she said, asking the commission for a consensus to use 7.5 mills for planning.

Vice Mayor (speaking as a commissioner) and others said they supported holding the rate at 7.5 mills amid the uncertainty. Commissioners debated household impacts: a rollback reduction equivalent to a full 0.5 mill would produce larger savings, but the actual rollback gap here is about a quarter-mill; commissioners estimated savings for a $350,000 taxable home would be roughly $80–$90 a year under the smaller rollback scenario.

Commissioners asked staff to prepare a clear, voter-facing fact sheet showing what services and programs might be affected if the constitutional amendment passes, and to provide scenario tables comparing revenue, service-level and expenditure trade-offs. Burns said a draft FAQ/FAQ-style fact sheet is being circulated among departments and will be posted on the city website when ready.

No formal vote on millage was held at the workshop; Burns said budget workshops in August will include the detailed proposals and decisions for the FY2027 budget timetable. The commission adjourned the special meeting without taking formal action on millage.